John Landis was born on the 3rd August 1950, in Chicago, Illinois USA, and is a Primetime Emmy Award-winning director, producer, screenwriter, and actor, best known for directing such movies as “The Blues Brothers” (1980), “An American Werewolf in London” (1981), “Trading Places” (1983), and “Coming to America” (1988). Landis also made one of the most famous music videos for Michael Jackson – “Thriller”. His career started in 1969.
Have you ever wondered how rich John Landis is, as of early 2017? According to authoritative sources, it has been estimated that Landis’ net worth is as high as $70 million, an amount earned through his successful career in film industry. In addition to being a well-known director, Landis also works as a producer, actor and screenwriter, which also contribute to his wealth.
John Landis Net Worth $70 Million
John Landis was a son of Shirley Levine and Marshall Landis, an interior designer and decorator, and grew up in a Jewish family in California, where he parents moved when he was four months old.
He started his career as an assistant director of “Kelly’s Heroes” during filming in Yugoslavia in 1969, while in 1973 Landis directed and starred in “Schlock”. By the end of the ‘70s, John had made “The Kentucky Fried Movie” (1977) and “Animal House” (1978) starring John Belushi, Karen Allen and Tom Hulce. In 1980, Landis directed and co-wrote the huge hit called “The Blues Brothers” (1980) with John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, with the movie earning more than $110 million worldwide, increasing his net worth significantly. The next year, Landis wrote and directed the Oscar-winning horror “An American Werewolf in London” starring David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, and Joe Belcher, which grossed over $60 million at the box office.
In July 1982, the actor Vic Morrow and two child extras died in an accident involving a helicopter during the filming of “Twilight Zone: The Movie”. Landis was charged with involuntary manslaughter, but was acquitted of the charges in 1987. The movie came out in 1983, and the same year Landis filmed the Oscar-nominated “Trading Places” starring Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd, which was a huge hit and earned more than $90 million in the US alone. His next movie – “Into the Night” (1985) with Jeff Goldblum and Michelle Pfeiffer, wasn’t that successful, but by the end of the ‘80s, Landis had directed such movies as “Spies Like Us” (1985) starring Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd, “¡Three Amigos!” (1986) with Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, and Martin Short, and the Oscar-nominated “Coming to America” (1988) with Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, and James Earl Jones – with a budget of around $40 million, the film grossed over $288 million worldwide, and is Landis’ most successful movie of his career.
In the early ‘90s, Landis made “Oscar” (1991) starring Sylvester Stallone and “Innocent Blood” (1992) with Anne Parillaud, Anthony LaPaglia, and Robert Loggia, while he also directed 17 episodes of the Primetime Emmy Award-winning series “Dream On” from 1990 to 1996. In 1994, he filmed “Beverly Hills Cop III” starring Eddie Murphy, and after spending most of the ‘90s and 2000s working on short films, music videos, and television series, Landis latest movie is “Burke and Hare” (2010) with Bill Bailey, Tom Wilkinson, and Michael Smiley. John also has over 40 acting credits, and has worked on 30 projects as a producer, significantly improving his wealth as well.
Regarding his persona life, John Landis married Deborah Nadoolman in July 1980 and has two children with her; they currently live in Beverly Hills, California. Although raised in a Jewish family, John states that he is an atheist.
